Libya’s reformist oil minister will not be attending Wednesday’s meeting of the Opec oil cartel, sparking speculation Muammar Gaddafi, the country’s leader, may have finally accepted his resignation.

Shokri Ghanem, who had privately indicated months ago that he wanted to retire, recently formally tendered his resignation. Close to the more reformist players within Libya, he had grown wary of the country’s growing aggressive oil nationalism, becoming increasingly candid about his views.